On Wednesday morning, the Broncos announced they've extended John Elway's contract three years - through the 2017 season - and added GM to his title.

With final say on all personnel decisions, Elway has been the de facto GM since he first took over as VP of football ops in 2011, even though Brian Xanders had the title of GM through that season.

Said the Duke of his extension,

I am grateful for the opportunity that I’ve been given with the Broncos. Our goal is to continue building on the culture of winning established by Pat Bowlen, and we remain relentlessly committed to delivering a World Championship to our fans.

There’s a lot of emotion swirling inside any Broncos fan right now. A loss like this one feels raw, exhausting, and most of all, personal.

After all, we’ve been with this team for 19 games now. We’ve watched them set records, only to fall well short in the biggest game of the year.

But let’s face it, today was never meant to be the Broncos’ day. We need to accept that fact. The first play of the game was a self-induced safety. The first play of the second half was something I can only describe as completely bizarre.

But even without such alien abductions, the Seahawks were the better team.

Happy Tuesday, friends. We’ve gotten a couple of emails lately wondering how the Broncos are going to deal with the loss of Chris Harris, their best and most consistent defensive back.

The simple answer is that the other defensive backs are going to have to step up. Duh, right?

I’m going to go a little beyond that today, even in a brief little post. The Broncos are actually pretty lucky right now, because none of the other three teams left in the playoffs are particularly well-built to capitalize on the loss of Harris.

While the 24-17 final score won't indicate it, this win was as good as a blowout.

The Chargers couldn't score until the fourth quarter; when they did, it took some pretty fluky stuff to get them into the game. Some garbage zone, blown coverages, and an onside kick later, the game narrowed.

But let's face it, the Chargers came into the game wanting to attack the edges on first and second down. The signing of Jeremy Mincey, which may turn out to be one of the best signings of the year, made this team stronger outside the tackles. And while you may not believe it, Nate Irving and Shaun Phillips both set the edge as well as Von Miller could have.

Just remember: no matter how bad things are, they can always get worse.

For example, you could be a Chiefs fan right about now. All year long their team gave them false hope, from their acquisition of Alex Smith, to their weak-ass schedule, to their near win against the Chargers with their reserves in Week 17.